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Girls are NOT easier

I was pretty sure that parenting girls would be easier than parenting boys. I had my son Isaiah first, four years ago. He was all boy, right off the bat. He climbed everything, tried anything, and showed no signs of fear. He started walking at 10 months, was running by 11 months. Months 12-28 were exhausting. My friends with girls seemed to have it easier than me. Their daughters did things like sit and walk and play with their toys quietly. Isaiah thought that sitting and time-out were the same thing. He thought being told to “walk” was a punishment. He was always moving and didn’t start to slow down and listen to me until about 6 months ago, around the time my twins started walking.

Since I have done this parenting thing before, I was pretty sure I’m smarter than a one year old. I know all about child proofing and how to use distraction effectively. Besides, they’re girls, so how hard could this toddler age be?

The picture that describes my life with one year old twins!

I can’t tell you how many things I have been wrong about this time around. I thought Ky and Cadee would be late walkers, or at least wait until they were a year old. Wrong. They were both master walkers by their first birthday. I thought Cadee and Ky would be less curious than their brother. Wrong. These girls have gotten into things that never crossed their brothers mind! I thought they would be fearful of falling from high places. Wrong. I once found Cadee INSIDE of my top kitchen cabinet eating cookies. Who would have thought to put a cabinet lock on the ones ABOVE the counter top?

Things I never dealt with before I am now having to deal with now. My childproofing has gone to an all new level. There is a lock on the fridge, after my 13 month old Ky got into the leftovers and painted my floor with chicken stir fry. There is a lock on the oven, because Ky is obsessed with pulling herself up on any horizontal bar, and once she figured out she could open the oven, it became her new obsession. There is a lock on the dryer, because Ky and Cadee both think it’s the best seat in the house. We have no dining room chairs in our house, they stay in the garage and only get brought in for dinner. After the top cabinet incident, having a place to sit just isn’t worth the risk.

I remember laying down, looking at the ultrasound screen, seeing my beautiful twin girls for the first time. I was scared out of my mind, but I comforted myself with the thought “They are girls, they will be easier to handle.” Boy, was I wrong. At 17 months old my twin girls are giving me a run for my money. And so far, there is nothing easy about this climbing toddler stage, even if they ARE girls.

Dollimama is the mother of three, a four year old son and 17 month old twin daughters. She spends her days chasing children and doing laundry, while trying to keep her children out of the dryer. She writes about the chaos of her Life Not Finished whenever she gets the chance.

What about your toddlers? Have they entered the climbing stage?

Have you found a difference between raising boys and girls? Do you think raising girls is easier than raising boys?

I came at parenting from a completely different perspective. Before I became a parent, I thought gender was a fully social construct. As long as we didn’t teach the kids about gender roles, they could be more true to their “real” identities. Ha! My frou-frou-wearing, ballet-dancing princesses who are also mean soccer players, great cooks, and runners extraordinaire proved me wrong!

Having toddler boys was exhausting for all the reasons that you’ve outlined. But now that they’re in high school, I’m loving it! There’s very little drama with boys. What you see is what you get. My friends with teenage girls, on the other hand, tell me stories that makes my hair stand on end!

R&C were late on walking and climbing, but Zoe is a NUT. However, none of my girls are quiet or really sit very long playing with anything quiet. My visions (and fears) of tea parties and dolls have not become realities. They love trucks, cars, dinosaurs, and being LOUD.

Wow. My 22-mo old boy is not that much of a climber but he is pretty darn stubborn, at least when he tries to ignore me. His speech is also slower/delayed and they say girls are more verbal. If I have a girl next, I’m looking forward to the early talking part! The girls of my friends are all much more daring or risky physically than my boy, ha!

Ha! Its a twin thing. They are braver because there are 2 of them! They always have a support person egging them on. I’m only joking – that may or may not be true. But I agree with Johanna – I’ll take girls over boys any day!

I have teenage stepkids, girls 12 and 13 and 17 year old boy in addition to my 5 month old girls. Wooo, I’m not looking forward to my twins being teenagers. My stepson is so much more laid back. Between the endless chatter and drama, I want to pull my hair out. I cant wait to see what its like when my girls start crawling. Their personalities are so greatly different, my baby A who was quiet in the womb is very demanding and wants attention constantly and who was my wiggleworm baby B is now more introverted and content to play by herself. I’m hoping for a boy next go around

My twin boys are 17-months old too! They are into EVERYTHING! And man oh man do they love to climb! They are often sitting in the back of my corner cupboards, sitting on the coffee table, even climbing onto the window sills. Honestly, they climb absolutely everything possible. Their current favourite game is climbing onto the couch, faceplanting along it, rolling off onto strategically placed (by themselves) cushions, then doing it all over again. And again, and again, and again…well, you get the point. Somehow they even to manage to take turns in *this* game!

As I only have my two boys, I don’t know what it’s like to raise a girl, but I think it’s more to do with the child than his or her gender. Some children are incredibly active, some aren’t so much. I know hugely full-on boys and hugely full-on girls, and by the same token, I also know quieter and less out-going boys and girls.

My boys are freaken awesome, though, and I love how adventurous they are!

It’s amazing how different all of our experiences it just goes to each child really is different!
Amber Lena, I think your onto something with the “twin thing.” My girls feed off of each other for sure!

My daughter started crawling and climbing before my son did. She show’s no fear of dangerous activities. My son does. They fight over dolls, my bangles, and cars. His favorite colour is pink. It’s more of a personality thing so far, (they are 2).
Great Post and cool pic!

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